Giants’ David Sills V poised to make impact as teammates laud skill set

The love-fest joint Giants-Jets practice had ended, and into the Big Blue field house following Dion Dargin of public relations to the podium came David Sills V. 

“First one,” Sills said, and smiled, as he walked to where Daniel Jones had just finished his Q&A. 

The way Sills has been playing this summer, the way he and Jones have bonded, evidenced by a snapshot of the two of them chitchatting alone together by one of the end zones, consider it highly unlikely that this will be the last one for him. 

Sills is on the brink of catching a dream that began even before he was the precocious seventh-grade quarterback when he verbally committed to USC, a dream four years in the making with the Giants. 

He is 26 now, and he is high-pointing the opportunity. 

Sills smiled when I asked him if he misses playing quarterback and said: “Not when I’m having this much fun playing receiver,” and then he laughed. 

There are the first-rounders like Kadarius Toney, and the $72 million free agents like Kenny Golladay … and there is David Sills V from Delaware, released by the Bills as an undrafted 2019 free agent, sidelined by a fractured foot in COVID 2020, on and off the Giants practice squad but mostly on, before two precious career catches at the end of the 2021 season. 

“It’s been an up-and-down road,” Sills told The Post, “but I’ve been able to stick with it. … The NFL’s never easy, and I always say it’s a marathon, it’s not a sprint. … Some things just might not go your way. You just gotta keep plugging away.” 

Sills is making you believe that Brian Daboll can be a godsend simultaneously for Jones and Sills. 

“We’ve been able to build a connection and a chemistry,” Sills said. “I think it’s showing out there on the field.” 

There is no reason for Sills to sweat the mandatory cutdown to 53 on Tuesday, and if he has not earned his first Opening Day roster spot, expect him to make an impact soon thereafter. 

“He’s an extremely hard-working guy who you can count on to be in the right spot,” Jones said. “He’s a smart football player, he knows how to get open. He’s talented from a route-running standpoint and someone who I’ve worked with a lot … he made a lot of plays today, he’s made a lot of plays this camp.” 

Daboll and GM Joe Schoen are looking for a few good smart, tough and dependable men. Meet David Sills V. 

“Never been around a receiver like him,” third-string quarterback Davis Webb told The Post. “I think his work ethic and his mental approach to the game is pretty spectacular. Never seen it. He’s a grinder. He’s always working on his body, or film — he’s really like a quarterback playing receiver. He’s got a unique skill set. He knows himself, which I think is important. He knows what his strengths are, and he tries to maximize that.” 

Sills is 6-foot-3, 211 pounds. “He’s taller, he’s got some one-on-one jump-ball ability, he’s got some speed, he’s got some quickness, he’s got some hands,” Webb said. “But his mind really is I think his best thing, which is unique. We want smart, tough and dependable and I think he’s the definition of that.” 

Then-West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen was the first to ask Sills to abandon quarterback in 2015. Sills would transfer to El Camino College to play quarterback before returning to West Virginia and catching fire, and everything else (132 receptions, 2,097 yards, 35 TDs in 2017-18). 

“I feel like a guy that can win verse press coverage but also have some savviness to his game to be able to win in the change-of-direction routes too,” Stills said. 

He is playing as if he knows he belongs now. 

“I would say a little bit more aggressive than I used to be,” Sills said. “I would say playing with the ball’s in the air, having that mentality that I’m coming down with it regardless. And I think you kinda have to have that mentality as a receiver, but I think that goes in with playing with the confidence, and that’s something that I feel like I’m playing with a lot right now.” 

Sills (six catches) relished lining up against Jets No. 1 draft Sauce Gardner on Thursday. 

“I had a great time going up against him today,” Sills said, “and looking forward to going up against him on Sunday.” 

Could he be a Secret Weapon? 

“I guess we’ll see,” Sills said, and smiled. 

Nope, Secret’s out.